The California Condor 



Seize and grasp he cannot. His 

 feet, though large and powerful, 

 have stubby claws. Kill he will 

 not — and there you have it. 

 Really gentle folk must often sit 

 at the second table simply be- 

 cause they do cherish their 

 integrity. 



The Condor, though 

 neither quarrelsome nor tyran- 

 nical, will not submit to hector- 

 ing. Brown details an instance 

 where a jealous Eagle, a "Gol- 

 den" it was, became increas- 

 ingly offensive to a peaceable 

 group of Condors, until at last 

 he struck one of them. Of 

 course, the smaller the bully the 

 greater the advantage in the air 

 game. But something had to be 

 done. The three Condors re- 

 tired down the ridge for consul- 

 tation. The Eagle, meanwhile, 

 puffed with pride, and believing 

 himself victorious, seated him- 

 self in the topmost bough of a 

 pine tree and listened to the 

 murmured applause of the dicky birds. His eye must have been 

 turned patronizingly downward, for presently a black thunderbolt 

 struck him unaw r ares and sent him crashing heels over crown down 

 into the lower branches. But the Eagle was game. Screaming with 

 rage, he started to mount, intent on taking vengeance upon his pur- 

 suers. The Condors, however, had thought that all out, and while the 

 Eagle was dodging one thunderbolt the other two were qualifying for 

 position. It was too much, and the reputed "king of birds" fled the 

 country. 



The Condor is monarch of the air. We cannot say that there are not 

 swifter birds or more agile birds, but there are none among land birds in 

 whom powers of endurance have been more fully developed, or who have 

 achieved a mastery more unquestioned. Apart from the mechanics of 

 gliding flight, a matter which we have discussed elsewhere in these pages, 

 there remain the two marvels of majesty and endurance. We shall prob- 



1728 



Taken in Los Angeles County Photo by Finley and Bohlman 



"GENERAL," AGED 54 DAYS 



